We're working on permanent transit funding

Comments in the Jan. 27 Post-Gazette by an official of the Port Authority were incorrect ("Port Authority Chief Feeling Stranded Amid Fiscal Crisis"). The Allegheny County Democratic Delegation in the state House of Representatives has been actively working to find dedicated long-term funding for mass transit.

Over the last half-dozen years, we have been advocating for permanent, stable funding for transit, and this advocacy has gotten results -- most notably when Gov. Ed Rendell flexed federal transportation dollars to prevent cuts in transit service. Many members of the delegation, including our chairman, Rep. Dan Frankel, have previously put forth proposals for dedicated funding. Recently, we have convened meetings with the authority's leadership as well as the transit union. Many of us have been working on this issue for some time, including Rep. Joe Markosek, the new majority chairman of the Transportation Committee who is also a former member of the authority's board.

We are committed to doing what we can to make the cuts less drastic and to stabilize funding for the long term. We understand that transit service is vital for the livelihood, health and quality of life of many residents and businesses in each of our districts.

The arrival of a new Democratic majority in the House will help us in making this issue a priority. Building on our previous advocacy, we will work together to insist that the governor and the General Assembly address the issue of funding mass transit for the long term as we consider the state budget in the next several months.

REP. MARC GERGELY
Vice Chairman
Allegheny County Democratic Delegation
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Harrisburg

This letter was co-signed by the 19 members of the delegation.

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Money in the bank

I have an idea to help close the $80 million deficit facing the Port Authority. How about fining people who eat and drink on the bus?

On every bus I have been on in recent days -- mainly the 61C -- somebody was eating. Eating on the bus is completely rude and gross. There are signs stating no open food or beverages on some of the buses. Maybe these people eating McDonald's food cannot read.

Another bus-riding annoyance is people talking on their cell phones. This annoyance is just rude, not gross. I don't see signs disallowing talking on cell phones.

How about fining people who disobey the rules? And why not disallow talking on a cell phone? The Port Authority would make a lot of money enforcing such a rule.

LAURA LIOTUS
Greenfield

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Kerry's decision

I am saddened to hear that Sen. John Kerry has decided not to take another shot at the presidency right now ("Kerry Passes on Presidential Run to Oppose War," Jan. 25). His entrance into the race would have added the much-needed dimension of statesmanship and expertise into the debates on foreign policy and domestic issues.

I held out hope that perhaps this election, we would vote for a candidate on merit and experience and not whether we wanted to have a beer or dine with him. Sen. Kerry's campaign in 2004 was a tough one as he took on a wartime president. It wasn't the Swift Boat smears or the other minor things that led to his defeat; it was the fear card, played so well by our current administration. The public didn't know Sen. Kerry well enough to "change horses in midstream."

However, his decision not to run in what is shaping up to be a three-ring circus is probably the smartest thing to do right now. Now he doesn't have to worry about omitting a word from a sentence. He has more important things to focus on like bringing our fighting men and women home from Iraq. This is a lofty goal, and he takes it on because he cares about America and our soldiers.

A great opportunity for America was lost in 2004 when Sen. Kerry lost his bid for the presidency, and we are out another chance to get it right -- for now. The senator, however, is going to continue to fight to get it right for America.

MARGARET VOGEL
Greensburg

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Sickening reality

I want to agree with letter writer Cora Morley ("Sickening Photo," Jan. 24) that, yes, the photo of a pool of blood on a Baghdad street was terrible. However, I think the papers should put more photos in like that. Maybe even some showing our dead or wounded soldiers.

The truth is that Ms. Morley should write to the president, not the paper. Everyone should. Let him know that we want it to stop. He put us there, and he needs to get us out now.

Hiding the pictures on the back pages or not printing them at all will not make it stop. We need to see what is really happening, and not just what he wants us to know. If everyone would see what is happening, then they would want it to stop too.

So write to the president today and tell him you don't want to see this on any page in your paper.

DIANE M. PALUMBO
New Kensington

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No mutual support?

If the Pittsburgh Steelers were planning to leave the city, I highly suspect there would be mass protests in the streets as well as a general call to civic action from the Steelers fans to defend the team from all aggressors, foreign and domestic. This is not the case, however -- the Steelers got their building, as did the Pirates.

The Penguins, however, who have the oldest building in the NHL, have been trying to get a new one for seven years. Their efforts have been stymied at every step. And not a few Steelers fans have expressed their apathy, or their derision, to the plight of the Penguins fans over the dilemma.

We Penguins fans have cheered the Pirates and Steelers to victory alongside the rest of you. But, if the people of Pittsburgh will not stand with us Pens fans, and the team leaves because of it, then I no longer see a need to support any Pittsburgh sports team, nor will I spend a dime in Don Barden's casino. I strongly urge every true Pens fan to do the same.

BRIAN LUCE
Chippewa

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A driving hazard

During the recent round of snowy weather we have been through, I have been very surprised by the number of Pittsburghers who drive in inclement weather without turning on their headlights. It seems that about half the drivers on the road in Pittsburgh during snowy, rainy or foggy weather do not use their lights.

It is amazing to me how many drivers ignore common sense, common courtesy and state law by essentially making themselves invisible in hazardous, reduced-visibility conditions. I urge all drivers to be considerate and remember to turn on their headlights during bad weather.

JOHN DAWSON
Shadyside

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We are using lawful tools to fight terrorism

Because your Jan. 19 editorial ("Spy Reversal") on the Terrorist Surveillance Program (TSP) and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) may have left readers with some inaccurate impressions, I offer the following response:

First, the TSP falls well within the president's constitutional authority, recognized and supplemented by Congress in the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, to protect Americans by intercepting the international communications of a lethal enemy.

Second, the Justice Department began exploring options for FISC approval for the collection of international al-Qaida communications into and out of the United States in the spring of 2005, well before the first press accounts disclosing the existence of the TSP. It took considerable time and effort, however, for the government to develop this new approach, which has the speed and agility offered by the TSP, and for a judge of the FISC to consider and approve these orders. The new FISC orders are innovative and complex, but the result is that any electronic surveillance that may have occurred previously under the TSP will now be subject to the approval of the FISC. Accordingly, under these circumstances, the president has determined not to reauthorize the TSP when the current authorization expires.

Third, the attorney general directed department officials to brief the Senate and House Intelligence committees, as well as other key members of Congress, on the new orders. Although the existence of these orders has been made public, the contents of the orders remain highly classified. The disclosure of such information could reveal to our enemies aspects of our intelligence capabilities and allow them to evade detection.

The intelligence community has confirmed the value of the TSP in providing us information we would not otherwise have had and that these new orders will fulfill that critical function. The attorney general and the Justice Department are committed to fighting terrorism and using all lawful tools to protect our nation in a manner that respects and preserves the civil liberties of all Americans.

TASIA SCOLINOS
Director of Public Affairs
U.S. Department of Justice
Washington, D.C.

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